The Interaction of the Terrestrial Magnetic Field with the Solar Corpuscular Radiation, 2, Second-Order Approximation

The previous calculation, in which the shape of the interface between the solar plasma and the terrestrial magnetic field was computed neglecting the curvature of the interface, has been improved. The magnetic field resulting from the current distribution on the first-approximation interface has been included in the calculation, and the surface has been recomputed in the plane containing the earth's dipole vector and the earth's orbital radius. As was anticipated in the first approximation, the daylit surface is altered very little but the nighttime surface and the polar regions are significantly changed. At the magnetic equator the height of the surface is very slightly reduced, but the height of the surface increases over the polar regions. The null point, where the surface current and magnetic field component tangential to the surface drop to zero, occurs on the dark side of the earth.